This invention relates in general to the manufacture and assembly of vehicle frame members and in particular to a method and apparatus for forming nodes that facilitate the connection of frame members.
Many land vehicles in common use, such as automobiles, vans, and trucks, include a body and frame assembly that is supported upon a plurality of ground-engaging wheels by a resilient suspension system. The structures of known body and frame assemblies can be divided into two general categories, namely, separate and unitized. In a typical separate body and frame assembly, the structural components of the body portion and the frame portion of the vehicle are separate and independent from one another. When assembled, the frame portion of the assembly is resiliently supported upon the vehicle wheels by the suspension system and serves as a platform upon which the body portion of the assembly and other components of the vehicle can be mounted. Separate body and frame assemblies of this general type are found in most older vehicles, but remain in common use today for many relatively large or specialized use modern vehicles, such as large vans, sport utility vehicles, and trucks. In a typical unitized body and frame assembly, sometimes referred to as a space frame assembly, the structural components of the body portion and the frame portion are combined into an integral unit that is resiliently supported upon the vehicle wheels by the suspension system. Unitized body and frame assemblies of this general type are found in many relatively small modern vehicles, such as automobiles and minivans.
Most known vehicular body and frame assemblies are formed from a plurality of individual structural members that are permanently joined to one another. In the past, the various structural members have been secured directly to one another to form the vehicular body and frame assembly. More recently, it has been proposed to manufacture a vehicular body and frame assembly by providing a plurality of structural members and a plurality of nodes. The ends of the structural members are secured to mounting portions provided on the nodes to form the vehicular body and frame assembly. The known methods for manufacturing a vehicular body and frame assembly have been satisfactory when all of the structural members thereof are formed from the same material. However, it has been found to be desirable to form some or all of the structural members of the vehicular body and frame assembly from different materials. Thus, it would be desirable to provide an improved method of manufacturing a node for joining a plurality of structural members together, such as in a vehicular body and frame assembly, that is well suited for joining structural members that are formed from differing materials.